The Texas Education Agency recently unveiled new educational materials, including a K-5 reading program infused with biblical references. This initiative, pending approval from the state Board of Education expected in November, promises monetary incentives, offering an extra $60 per pupil for districts opting to incorporate the materials by August 2025. This step signals a robust effort to align educational content with classical education standards and accommodate religious families utilizing public schools.
Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) lauded the program, emphasizing its potential to enrich students’ understanding of historical and cultural intersections in pivotal American events. Abbott highlighted the comprehensive nature of the materials, which integrate elements of history, art, community, literature, and religion, thereby providing students with a more holistic educational experience.
Proponents anticipate approval, with TX Board of Education member Aicha Davis acknowledging likely support. This comes in the wake of a Republican platform vote urging biblical teachings in schools. The 2022 Supreme Court decision in Carson v. Makin, which allowed public funds for religious charter schools, underpins the legal grounding for this move, alongside a 2007 Texas law permitting Bible electives in high schools.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath disputes critiques of religious favoritism, asserting the integration of biblical references aims to enhance literary comprehension and educational performance. He points to the inclusion of classic American literature, often imbued with religious allusions, indicating a broader objective to bolster background knowledge essential to understanding these seminal works. An example includes guiding fifth graders through Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” to explore the New Testament account of Jesus’s crucifixion, providing foundational knowledge of critical cultural texts.
Despite contentions regarding the separation of church and state, the program’s defenders argue that biblical literacy enriches students’ grasp of influential literature like Milton, Dante, and Shakespeare. Introducing biblical narratives as educational tools, the program includes Samuel Adams’s plea for interfaith prayer during the Continental Congress and Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil disobedience compared to the Book of Daniel.
Concerns from secular quarters persist, worried about religious content in public education possibly infringing on students’ diverse beliefs. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick counters that the standards aim at narrative competence of biblical stories, not proselytizing, while Democrat Board of Education member Staci Childs calls for a balanced inclusion of varied religious literacies to respect student diversity.
Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian institution, collaborated with the Texas Public Policy Foundation on the curriculum, ensuring classical education principles. While some vendors like Amplify retreated, citing exclusive biblical content, the Board assures inclusion of other religious teachings such as Jewish celebrations and works by poet Kshemendra on Hinduism and Buddhism.
This initiative reflects a broader trend toward reintroducing classical educational paradigms aimed at cultural literacy and moral fortification, positing that an informed understanding of biblical and other religious texts is indispensable to grasping the underpinnings of Western and global traditions. As debates continue, the approved program is poised to become a focal point in discussions about educational standards and religious inclusion in public schooling.
